The Secret of the Mask
by mangamaniac02
Summary: Ever since that fateful day in training, when Ichigo gained his Soul Reaper powers and appeared from the smoke bearing a mask, Ichigo has been wondering what it is that this mask does. And so, after many days of training and a talk with Kisuke, Ichigo strives to figure out the secrets of this powerful mask and to learn to control and use this newly found power. (Please read/review)
1. The Creature

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters in this story, and in this story the Hollow mask does not cause Hollow-Fication. Many other parts have been changed as well.

Ichigo parried Kisuke's Zanpakuto, Benihime, and, unsuccessfully, attempted to make a counter-strike. Yet, when he went for the counter-strike and failed, his side was left vulnerable and Kisuke striked, creating a large gash in Ichigo's side. Ichigo's knees went out, and Ichigo stuck out his hand, barely stopping his fall.

As Ichigo knelt on one knee, Kisuke gashed his other side and said,"Get back up Ichigo, you're going to have to do better than that if you want to get better."

Ichigo just barely managed to stand up, leaning heavily on Zangetsu, and nodded. Suddenly, Ichigo's vision started fading, fading, until everything was black. Moments later, or possibly hours due to his unconsciousness, Ichigo woke up to find himself on the upper floor of Kisuke's shop, or the ground level of Kisuke's shop, in a cot covered by some blankets. Ichigo's side had been gashed up pretty bad during training, and Ichigo looked under the blankets to finds his cuts and other injuries all wrapped neatly in bandages.

Suddenly, Ichigo heard a click and looked over to see Ururu standing in the doorway with a tray of food.

"Oh, so you're finally awake Mr. Kurosaki." Ururu said in her tiny little voice.

Ichigo sat up and grabbed the tray of food she offered him,"Thanks Ururu, so, how long have I been out?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, just several hours."

"Oh, well, where's Kisuke? I need, to continue training." Ichigo replied, between bites of his food.

Ururu shook her head. "He's not here right now, he's off running an errand, but before he left he said that you need to rest and regain your energy and to heal your wounds." she said.

"No can do, I have t-" Ichigo said, but in the middle of his sentence a spike of pain shot up his side as he tried to sit up and he groaned.

"See, you need rest. Now just sit back, eat your food, and get some rest. Besides, today is Saturday, you should be relaxing."

Ichigo gave in, it was either that or suffer the terrible pain in his side, and obediently laid down after finishing his food, getting comfortable for a nap. Yet Ichigo couldn't help wondering about who would deal with the Hollows while Ichigo was gone, surely Kisuke wouldn't deal with things unless things got serious and Rukia was still regaining her Soul Reaper abilities. Well, there was that one time where Uryu spread around Hollow bait and Ururu, Jinta, and Tessai dealt with _lots_ of Hollows, but with Kisuke gone somebody will have to run the business. Yet Ichigo let all this go, relaxing, trying to fall asleep, when suddenly, all faded to black quiet suddenly.

Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself in his "Inner World," the name he created for the place he met Zangetsu and battled his other self, the white Soul Reaper, and looked around, wondering what brought him here. Suddenly, off in the distance, Ichigo saw a something, possibly someone, approaching Ichigo in the distance. "Zangetsu, is that you! Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted off in the distance towards the mysterious being.

Suddenly, that mysterious being in the distance disappeared, and when Ichigo looked to his side he saw Zangetsu out of the blue.

"Ahh!" Ichigo shouted. "Whew, you scared me there for a second Zangetsu. So, do you need me for something?"

"Why nothing, it just gets lonely in here sometimes." Zangetsu said.

"Well, where's that other guy, the white Soul Reaper who looks just like me, where is he?" Ichigo asked.

"He and I are one and the same, just right now I am the stronger part." Zangetsu responded.

"I see, I suppose. Well unless there is anything I am needed for I should go, my wounds may not be healed but they should be better, and even without Kisuke around I can still-" Ichigo was saying, until he was cut off by Zangetsu.

"Actually, there is one thing of concern. You remember that Hollow mask you got from training with Kisuke, correct?" Zangetsu asked Ichigo.

"Yes." Ichigo replied.

"Don't throw it out, there is potential in this mask, I know it. Besides… I like it." Zangetsu said as all faded to darkness.

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, this time to find himself in the Urahara's shop, in the same room and cot as before. As Ichigo stepped out of bed he winced in pain, his wounds mustn't have healed all the way yet, oh well though, things have been worse. As Ichigo headed to the underground training area he saw the usual, Jinta harassing Ururu and Tessai there to stop it all, and with a slight chuckle Ichigo continued on his way. In the training area, while Ichigo was training, Ichigo tried to get Zangetsu to tell him about the mask, but Zangetsu was silent, so, for a while, Ichigo trained alone, until later Kisuke joined him, and after some cuts and bruises Ichigo confronted Kisuke to tell him about what Zangetsu said to him earlier and to ask him about this Hollow mask.

"Kisuke," Ichigo said, tugging on his robe a little as he was walking away, "Could you hold on a sec, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"I've got time, here, why don't we go and sit on that nice looking boulder over there." Kisuke said, with the same tone of humor and seriousness.

By the time it took to walk from the stairwell to the boulder Kisuke pointed out, Ichigo had explained the whole thing, and Kisuke just nodded and was quite silent. In fact, as Ichigo described this he looked slightly, disturbed, even.

"Well, there is one thing we can discern from this for sure." Kisuke said thoughtfully, with his chin on his palm.

"And that is… " Ichigo said, leaving the thought in the air.

"That Zangetsu like the mask." Kisuke said.

Ichigo did not look amused and responded," Come on, I am serious. This is concerning, I mean think about it, right when I unlocked my Soul Reaper powers I appeared with a shihakusho and a Hollow mask. Was the unlocking of my Soul Reaper abilities somehow connected to the sudden appearance of my mask?"

"It is most likely the best answer for now, but something about your conversation with Zangetsu disturbs me… " Kisuke replied.  
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Can you describe to me what your opponent looked like, you know, when you were fighting for Zangetsu." Kisuke asked Ichigo.

"Well, he looked exactly like me feature wise, however his eyes were dark and his skin was pale. Just like, just like a-" Ichigo was saying, suddenly cut off by Kisuke, who was now standing.

"A Hollow, yes, and when you two were talking, you and Zangetsu, he said that he and the 'other' Zangetsu, the Hollow-like one, were one, and he also said that he liked the mask." Kisuke said, pacing around.

"So, how does all of that fit together." Ichigo asked, standing as well following in Kisuke's footsteps.

Then, Kisuke stopped walking and faced Ichigo with a serious look on his face and said to him,"This is merely a theory, however, I believe that Zangetsu, is not who he appears. I believe that Zangetsu is part Zangetsu… And part Hollow."

Ichigo tried to cut him off with a question however Kisuke continued.

"But that's not all, I also believe, and this may come as a shock to you, but I believe that you are part Hollow too."

Ichigo stared at Kisuke in disbelief, not only because of what he just said, but also with confusion, I mean how could someone come up with some crazy conclusion like this with just the few facts presented to him?

"Every Zanpakuto has a link with it's Soul Reaper correct? So this is why I assume that you are part Hollow. Also, Ms. Yoruichi has shared with me that whenever you have tried to throw out the Hollow mask it returns to you, so that means that it shares a strong link with you. In addition, when you have that mask on, it seems to make you stronger, like how you broke out of that Kido Tessai put on you in training. So, my guess is that this mask, your Hollow side, is quite strong." Kisuke explained.

"So this very long and complicated speech means what?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, just that Zangetsu is part Hollow and so are you, so if you want to get stronger, I'm telling you, that mask of yours is the answer." Kisuke responded, walking towards the stairwell, leaving Ichigo alone and stunned.

Ichigo was shocked for a moment, but only momentarily when he realized his true mission. Just like Kisuke said, he had to master the mask. Zangetsu had said himself that this mask had potential, and he now understood what Zangetsu meant. So Ichigo left the training room and the shop and went home, and, ignoring his dad and sisters, went to his room. Ichigo frantically scurried around the room looking for the object he required, until at last he found it. Hidden in a secret place in his mattress was the Hollow mask he had once before feared, and now wanted to understand.

So even though he yearned to discover the secrets behind the mask he took a well deserved rest to recover from the many hard hours of training. After many long hours of sleeping, Ichigo decided to do something different today, and instead of going to Kisuke to train, he went to Ms. Yoruichi instead. Ms. Yoruichi was found where she always was, near Kisuke, whom was outside the shop, and as soon as Ichigo saw her he approached her.

"Yoruichi, can I have a word." Ichigo asked.

"Geez, why so formal. But sure, shoot kid." Yoruichi replied.

Ichigo, slightly embarrassed, replied," Umm… I was wondering if you could train me, I would like to become stronger."

Yoruichi looked at Ichigo, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Okay, but why come to me? Haven't you been training with Kisuke?" she asked.

"Well, remember when I showed you mask, well even in your cat form I could tell you were surprised, like you knew something?" Ichigo said suspiciously.

Yoruichi looked at the ground momentarily, obviously guilty, however being the strong woman she was, she looked Ichigo in the eye and said,"Why yes, I do, but why does it concern you?"

"I need to train, but not physically, mentally, I need to understand the mask. It is the only way I can become stronger. Please Yoruichi." Ichigo asked.

"Hmm… Alright, however it will be very intense training, and it won't be easy, Zangetsu will be merciless." Yoruichi replied.

"Wait, what?" Ichigo asked.

"Come on, let's take our leave." Youichi replied, ignoring Ichigo's concerns.

So Ichigo followed Yoruichi, totally clueless as to where they were going. He followed Yoruichi into the shop, down to the training room, and finally to Kisuke's makeshift senkaimon.

"What are we doing here?" Ichigo asked Yoruichi as she was setting up.

"You really want to know? Fine, well the training you're about to go through requires many hours of intense training, and to do that we'll need to go into the senkaimon, to the dangai, and train there." Yoruichi responded.

"And, how exactly does that help me with my training?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, the dangai, being cut off from the world of the living and the Soul Society, has a warped sense of time. In numbers, it is actually 20,000 times denser timewise. So if 20,000 hours pass in the dangai, one hour will pass here." Yoruichi said.

"Okay, but what about that big train thing that keeps people from being there for too long?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, that is true, the Kototsu will try to keep us out, however, the Soul Society has found a way to stop the Koryu. It's called Kaikyo Kotei, or boundy fixation, and normally takes several dozen Soul Reapers pouring in their spirit energy by means of a special technique to hold the Koryu in place, however I can probably hold it for a while by myself, now come on, let's get going." Yoruichi said to Ichigo.

So Ichigo, with this new knowledge, yet still wondering how to train, followed Yoruichi inside. When Ichigo entered that cloudy, dream-like landscape he followed Yoruichi to the middle of the dangai and watched patiently as she set up, throwing what looked like hollow shurikens into the walls with thick strings attached, most likely for the spirit energy to travel through.

With the extra length of the strings, Yoruichi was able to walk over to Ichigo and instruct him, and said, "Now I want you to sit down in the lotus position and put your Zanpakuto across your lap. This is called the Jinzen, or sword zen, and is a technique developed to communicate with your Zanpakuto. Now, get the answers out of your Hollow side, it won't be easy, like I said, Zangetsu will be merciless." Yoruichi said.

"Wait, how do you know about my Hollow side?" Ichigo asked while getting into position. "And what do you mean, Zangetsu will be merciless? Will I have to fight to get the answer out of him?"

"Yes, and don't you think that me and Kisuke talk about things. Now enough talk, concentrate, and enter that place with your Zanpakuto." Yoruichi replied.

Ichigo nodded and relaxed his muscles, calmed his mind, and slowly… Drifted… Into… Darkness.

The world was upside down, rushing at him, then Ichigo realized that he was falling, yet it was difficult for there was no wind or feeling in the stomach like he was falling. Ichigo started freaking out, wondering what to do, then he realized that he had been in weird situations like this before. So Ichigo slowly turned around in the air until his feet were facing the ground and landed softly on a raised platform in what could be an arena, if there were bleachers hanging over the dark pits below.

As Ichigo looked around, he noticed a figure in the distance, at the other side of the arena, standing there ominously. Ichigo already knew who he was, so he slowly approached him, as did the other guy, his Hollow side. As Ichigo approached he started to feel this feeling, slowly creeping up on him, a feeling that seemed to radiate from his Hollow side. Ichigo wasn't sure if it was fear or spiritual pressure causing this feeling, however Ichigo was starting to break into a cold sweat. Slowly and surely the feeling was starting to get worse, and when Ichigo's knees were starting to wobble he realized that this feeling he was experiencing was because of spiritual pressure, not fear, and eventually, Ichigo had walked close enough that he was on the ground, crawling towards this figure, his Hollow side.

As the feeling got greater and Ichigo couldn't move from the spot, he felt a figure, standing over him, and as he looked up he saw a creature with a big hole in his gray chest with three blood red stripes emitting from it, and great big claws for toes and fingers, and it bore a mask with blood red stripes and big bull horns, with big blue and eyes and long, flowing gray hair and it spoke, "You are not ready to bear this power, now begone."

And everything… Turned…Black.


	2. Ichiichi?

Ichigo blinked and looked around at his surroundings, and he found himself surrounded by a dream-like landscape. He was in the dangai again.

"Well," Yoruichi asked, seeing how he was conscious again, "how'd it go? Did you manage to tap into your Hollow side?"

"N-no, actually nothing happened in there except for me being brought down to my knees before a battle actually started." Ichigo responded, with surprise still printed on his face.

"You look surprised, did you see something disturbing in there?" Yoruichi asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess. Instead of the normal, pale Hollow guy, instead there was a beast with a hole in his chest and the horns of a bull whose spiritual pressure I could feel a mile away, and before, _he_ sent me back he said something like 'You are not ready to wield this power yet, now begone,' or something like that." Ichigo replied.

Yoruichi nodded and said, "Sounds like you saw your resurrección."

"Wait, what?" Ichigo asked, curious about this new term.

"Well, Soul Reapers can wield the powers of their Hollow side to become stronger, right?" Yoruichi asked Ichigo, who nodded. "Well, Hollow's can take off their masks to become more Soul Reaper or human like, and wield Zanpakutos, yet there is something distinctive about their release. Unlike Soul Reapers who have a shikai and a bankai, when an Arrancar, the name for a Hollow who took off their mask to become more human, released their Zanpakuto, they reveal their powerful form, or their original state."

"Okay," Ichigo asked, "and what does that have to do with me exactly?"

"Well, you're half human, correct, and, in theory, you're half Hollow right? Well, that should allow a resurrección to be possible." Yoruichi explained.

Ichigo nodded and responded, "Okay, I get it now. So, um… What do I do now then. It's obvious that I'm not strong enough to go battle my resurrección, so how do I train?"

Yoruichi nodded as Ichigo spoke and said, "Well in order to defeat your Hollow side, you need to learn from the person that knows him the best."

Ichigo nodded. "And who would that be?" he asked.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes a little bit, like she expected him to know the answer, and said, "Why the _other_ side of Zangetsu of course! Now get back in there, and this time learn from the other side of Zangetsu. Come on then hurry it up, will yah!"

Ichigo nodded and quickly got back into position, not wanting to see what Yoruichi would do if he didn't. So Ichigo concentrated, tried to get back into that world, then he opened his eyes and found himself in an area similar to that of the one beneath Kisuke's shop.

He was in.

Ichigo looked around and, surprisingly, found Zangetsu relatively close to him, weird, he normally was in the distance then appeared out of nowhere from behind Ichigo.

As Ichigo approached Zangetsu, he said, "Hey old man!" Zangetsu was unfazed as Ichigo approached, and soon enough Ichigo was right in front of him. "I need to become stronger, and the understanding between Zanpakuto and a Soul Reaper is very important to do so, so please, if there isn't anything you haven't taught me, please teach me now."

Zangetsu stood motionless, staring at Ichigo. "All right," Zangetsu said, "however it will not be easy. This move I am about to teach you will require you to battle for a long period of time without end, the opponent will not be easy on you. However, this new move will prove beneficial, you are becoming stronger in order to conquer your Hollow side, correct?" Zangetsu asked, although it wasn't really a question.

Ichigo nodded and Zangetsu nodded, "Well this move will invoke and stir up your Hollow side, and he can be a wild one so be careful, now I want you to find a place, any place, to stand, and the duel shall begin." Zangetsu said, slowly walking away, or was he floating?

Ichigo nodded, he had followed along Zangetsu's speech, but he asked, "And, who is my opponent exactly?" Ichigo asked, pulling out Zangetsu and getting into his battle stance.

Zangetsu turned around, and said creepishly, "Me, now lets begin."

Ichigo barely had any time to react, even though Zangetsu was on the other side of the room, Ichigo felt a slight wind behind him and just barely spun around and blocked Zangetsu's… Well, he blocked Zangetsu who was using Zangetsu, so he blocked Zangetsu basically. Ichigo tried to get a jab in, however that was a bad move. When Ichigo stepped out to jab, his back was left wide open, so Zangetsu merely pivoted to the side and with a sweep of his sword got Ichigo pretty well in the back. Luckily, however, Ichigo avoided being cut in two by ducking, and then sweeping his sword horizontally while pivoting in the direction of Zangetsu. Ichigo managed to clip Zangetsu in the legs, but not before Zangetsu started jabbing the ground. Ichigo rolled to the left, he rolled to the right, just barely having his head stabbed. Luckily, he managed to get up before Zangetsu jabbed again. So as Ichigo stumbled to his feet, he turned and saw Zangetsu swinging himself, well, his sword form, in the air by the cloth attached to the end.

Ichigo was caught off guard momentarily due to this generally new attack, and barely managed to sidestep the blade as it came flying through the air at him. So Ichigo grabbed the sword and he, he… He stopped. What was this strange sensation, no, _feeling_ coming from this sword, no, Zangetsu. It felt sad, alone. That's it. It's loneliness. What was one of the things Zangetsu said when he was summoned to this inner world for no reason? Zangetsu said that it got lonely in here sometimes. Ichigo knew what he had to do, and while all of this sped through his mind, Zangetsu had approached, sword in hand, and now, when Ichigo had come to his conclusion, Zangetsu came face to face with Ichigo and stabbed him in the chest.

"So you found out." Zangetsu said. "Clever boy, yes, the point of this training is to accept the blade you wield, now, let the technique and all you need to know about it flow to you through this blade."

Ichigo nodded, he felt no pain from this sword, and instead he found comfort in it, and slowly Ichigo started to understand what he must do. Ichigo nodded, a smile on his face as this world turned darker, and right before everything turned black, Ichigo swore he saw a smile on the face of that old man…

Ichigo blinked, he was back. Ichigo stood up and looked at Yoruichi.

"You were right," Ichigo said, "the old man did teach me a thing or two."

Yoruichi smiled, and said while taking out the shuriken like things,"Good, now come on, we must train now."

"But, we're in the middle of the dangai, why not train here and save some time?" Ichigo asked.

"Uh, hello smart guy, this place not only looks like marshmallows, but it can be destroyed as easily as one!" Yoruichi said, getting all up in Ichigo's face while she said it. "Now come on, plus I'm starting to get cramped in here, lets go through the Seireitei and get back to the training room, it'll be much easier to train there."

Ichigo nodded and walked through the Seireitei to the training room, and Yoruichi said, "Now come on, we don't have all day. What is this new move Zangetsu taught you?"

Ichigo nodded, "Well, every Zanpakuto has a certain technique, and the move Zangetsu taught me is his technique. It is much more powerful when you know the name, so he told me… And he calls it the Getsuga Tensho (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)." Ichigo explained.

Then, with a little thought, some spirit energy, and the cooperation of Zangetsu, Ichigo aimed to the lifted Zangetsu, aimed nowhere in particular, and out came a brilliant flash of light in the shape of a crescent. It struck a rock, and upon contact the rock blew up, causing little remnants of rock to fly everywhere reducing a big boulder to a mere many rocks upon the ground.

Yoruichi clapped a little, then started walking away waving her shoulder at Ichigo and said, "Come on hotshot, we ain't training here."

Ichigo looked surprised, and asked Yoruichi while trying to catch up, "Well then, where are we training?"

Yoruichi stopped, turned, and looked at Ichigo like it was obvious or something and said, "Why isn't it obvious? We're going to put your new skills to the test against some real enemies, Hollows."

Ichigo nodded and they kept going, but there was one thing Ichigo was concerned about, so he asked Yoruichi, "Well, how are we going to really train without many Hollows?"

Ichigo could tell Yoruichi was smiling, even behind her, and Yoruichi didn't respond until they had reached the outside of the shop, which she then turned to face Ichigo and pulled out what looked like a penny, but was bigger all around, and for some reason it looked familiar?

"This, is Hollow bait, and I'm pretty sure that you're already familiar with this already huh?" Yoruichi said.

"Yes, it was pretty bad if Kisuke didn't already tell you about it. So don't you think we shouldn't try doing that again?" Ichigo responded.

"It's fine, Hollow bait merely summons many low level Hollows, it should be perfectly fine for someone of your level, plus I'm here, so, the deal's sealed." Yoruichi said reassuringly.

"Wait, bu-" Ichigo said, when Yoruichi interrupted.

"Here it goes." Yoruichi said, and she crushed the Hollow bait between her fingers, and Ichigo watched as it slowly floated away on the wind.

Ichigo looked down at his feet, what have I gotten myself into he thought, and Ichigo took off, already sensing a new Hollow presence. As Ichigo rushed he talked to Zangetsu.

"I'm going to use that new move you taught me Zangetsu." Ichigo said

Zangetsu's voice rang in Ichigo's head. "Good, just remember what you've been taught, all right?" he said.

Ichigo nodded and went for the first Hollow he saw, an ugly beast much like that of a frog, like the one he and Don Kanonji had faced long ago, this one was bigger though and uglier too. However Ichigo got it quickly with a single Getsuga Tensho. Then Ichigo felt the presence of someone behind him and turn around quickly and fired a Getsuga Tensho, nailing a Hollow right across the chest. Ichigo shook his head, what had he gotten himself into, then Ichigo felt a strange tingling, all over his body, it was strange. It felt like someone or something was watching him, or lurking over his shoulder, but Ichigo looked everywhere and saw nothing. But Ichigo forgot about all of that when a big Hollow, and we're talking pretty big here, landed in front of him.

Ichigo faced the beast and stared him in the eye, it had a tiny body, like stick figure skinny, and a big dome of a head with one big eye and a mouth all the way up there and little holes in various spots on the edges, and underneath the big empty dome was hanging little balls, it looked like a drop of water running along a surface and just about to drip down, but not yet. As Ichigo stared at this strange Hollow, it sat down and the dome kind of made a sucking noise, and as Ichigo walked up and kicked the dome, not only did it not shift at all, but his foot hurt, badly!

Then Ichigo heard an even worse noise, it sounded like a dozen eggs beings cracked open, and suddenly a ton of small Hollows burst from the holes in the side of the Hollow's dome-like head. They all seemed to have one goal too, to eat Ichigo's soul. Ichigo backed up, not sure if they were full of explosive things or what, but when it was obvious they weren't, Ichigo went in for the attack. Then, even though Ichigo had backed up considerably far, Ichigo noticed the small Hollows at his feet, in fact, they all were. How could that be? Then Ichigo noticed something, he looked at the giant Hollow spawning all of the other Hollows, and he saw one mini Hollow pop out, and then in a flash it disappeared. So not only are these mini Hollows never ending and small targets, they also happened to have super speed. Ichigo had heard of Yoruichi and something about a flash step in the Soul Society, however he didn't really know how to do that yet.

So, while all these thoughts ran through his head, Ichigo had been swinging his sword this way and that. Ichigo didn't want to risk firing a Getsuga Tensho, not when everyone was on top of him, however Ichigo did talk to Zangetsu.

"Zangetsu," Ichigo said, while struggling to keep back these Hollows, "please help me, teach me of a way to defeat these Hollows."

Ichigo could hear Zangetsu respond, "You are correct, it is dangerous to fire a Getsuga Tensho, so why not do something else."

Ichigo thought about it, then it hit him, of course, why hadn't he thought of that! Ichigo quickly summoned a Getsuga Tensho, but instead of firing it, he wrapped it around his blade. The Hollows all stared curiously at this new discovery, but most of them made the smart choice and started to back away. However they were too late, and Ichigo swung Zangetsu and as Zangetsu struck the Hollows, it had the force of Zangetsu, and the destructive power of the Getsuga Tensho, it worked perfectly, wiping out that entire crowd around Ichigo.

Ichigo rushed at the Hollow, who had opened its eyes and temporarily stopped making mini Hollows. The moment was perfect. Luckily, because Ichigo had kicked the Hollow, he knew that event the destructive power of a Getsuga Tensho wouldn't cause much damage. So, Ichigo leaped into the air, wrapped a Getsuga Tensho around his blade, and struck the Hollow in the eye, while it was still open. It was gross, however no part of the Hollow is vulnerable with that iron skin exposed. The Hollow began dissipating and Ichigo ran off to fight the next Hollow…

Later, Ichigo and Yoruichi went down to the training room again to train some more, like they haven't done enough already.

Ichigo walked slowly, tired out from all the training. It had seriously probably been a day or two without sleep, depending on how long he was in the dangai, and he was practically living on adrenaline. "Must we train some more, I don't know how long it took in the dangai for me to learn the Getsuga Tensho, but it feels like I haven't slept in days." he complained to Yoruichi.

Yoruichi looked back at Ichigo and smiled. "Now, it is only when you are pushed to your limits and exceed them that you can truly improve, now come on, let's make our way to the Seireitei." she responded.

Ichigo nodded, but then that feeling, that tingling sensation of someone being there returned. He stopped suddenly when that happened and grabbed his chest. Yoruichi noticed he wasn't following and turned around to see what was happening.

"Ichigo, Ichigo are you alright?" Yoruichi asked approaching him.

"I, I." Ichigo said, unable to finish his sentence.

Then he remembered. This presence, it was his Hollow side, that's right, the Getsuga Tensho invokes his Hollow side, and he had been doing that alot today. _That's right._ Ichigo looked around, trying to see who said that. Then he collapsed to his knees his hand on the ground. _I understand you want to control me, right? Well think again, I control You, Ichigo._ Ichigo then started to feel something, like, like he wasn't in his body anymore, like he was merely watching from the background. Like he, he wasn't in control. Then all went black. Yoruichi saw all of this of course, but had no idea what was happening.

"Ichigo," she said, on the ground next to him, her hand on his shoulder, "are you okay. Answer me!"

Ichigo was suddenly still, then he looked up and his face was normal, no mask, yet his eyes, they were dark and the pupils were bone white. Then out of nowhere Ichigo, or was it Ichigo anymore, grabbed Yoruichi, smiled, then locked her in a ferocious kiss. Yoruichi was surprised at first, but then she started to subdue to Ichigo's attack of passion.

And after who knows how long the kiss ended, and Ichigo leaned back, winked, and said, "Catch yah later Shihoin."

Then the darkness slowly faded from Ichigo's eyes and Ichigo blinked. He had no idea what had just happened, but by the look on Yoruichi's face he could tell that something was up.

Yoruichi had not really noticed the darkness in his eyes, and did not know that Ichigo was not in control at that time, and said, "Ichigo, I always had this creeping suspicion that you liked me ever since you saw my true form, but I must say, I have always kind of liked you too." She said and stood up, and as she walked away she turned her head over her shoulder and said," Let's do that again sometime Kurosaki. Training over."

Ichigo looked around, having no idea what just happened, and when Yoruichi left Ichigo shouted, "What!"


	3. The Arrancar Arrival

Ichigo sat there, stunned at what had just happened. During all that had happened, he just had sat and watched from the sidelines, or wherever he was when that just happened, shocked and, what was this other feeling he was experiencing? Pleasure maybe? But he had no control over what had just happened, and right before his Hollow left, in his mind he said _You're welcome for this bye the way_ , and he was gone without another word. Ichigo tried to get mad at his Hollow, he wanted to shout and even bang his head against the ground, whatever it took to get his Hollow out of him so he could kill him, but, Ichigo just simply couldn't. Honestly, before all this, with the kiss and the training, Ichigo felt like he had some feelings for her; the way she always seems to goof off, yet is super serious when the time comes, she's brave and she is not afraid to share what's on her mind, and she's pretty good looking, you have to admit. Yet, until now, those were merely thoughts, yet after such a crazy kiss out of the blue, those thoughts seemed to have turned into feelings.

Ichigo stood up and started the long descent home, and he shook his head thinking about what a long day tomorrow would be…

Ichigo approached the shop and attempted to open the door, despite the closed sign hanging across the door. It was open. Ichigo went through the trapdoor and started his descent down the stairs, looking down expectantly to see Yoruichi. She was running around, well, it was mostly flash-stepping, but she appeared to be training or something of the sort. Well, she is nicknamed the "Flash Master" so she doesn't really need training, I guess she's just been in that cat form for so long that she just needed to get back into the swing of things. She looked normal, totally unconcerned about the fact Ichigo had just walked in, yet was it just Ichigo or did Yoruichi seem to be blushing? Anyway, after Ichigo had reached ground level, Yoruichi stopped right in front of him, a gust of air blowing against Ichigo.

Yoruichi smiled at him. "Don't think that just because what you did yesterday will make me go any easier on you Ichigo." she said, he arms folded. Now come on, we've got a busy schedule ahead of us." she started walking away towards more open ground.

Ichigo looked at the ground and back up at Yoruichi, not knowing what to say. "Listen Yoruichi, about yesterday… " Ichigo said, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

Yoruichi spun around and flash stepped so far that she ended up right in his face, and she said, "Hey, what did I say. We've got a busy schedule today so lets get going, huh."

Yoruichi walked away, and even though Ichigo couldn't see it, he bet she had a smile on her face. Ichigo walked alongside Yoruichi, and he kept walking, and walking, until Ichigo's legs started to weaken.

"Why are we walking so much Yoruichi." Ichigo asked, sweat lining his brow.

"Because," she said, without turning to face Ichigo, "you need to build more stamina."

"But I thought that in your soul form that you got stamina from your spirit energy."

"Yes, however, you are always outputting your spirit energy at maximum strength, and once that runs out, you'll need to run on will and strength alone. So over the next course of training, we shall work on stamina/strength building exercises. Besides, building physical strength will help your overall attack power and build spirit energy. So enough talk, let's start! I want you to drop and give me 1,000 pushups!" Yoruichi said, pointing towards the ground at her feet.

Ichigo gaped at Yoruichi. "You're crazy if you think that I'm ever going to do that many!" Ichigo said, looking at Yoruichi, and when she glared at him he immediately dropped.

Man, Ichigo thought between pushups, Yoruichi is really pushing me today. After a while Ichigo managed to reach a thousand, thanks to his immense spiritual energy thankfully, but then he had to do 50 laps around the room. It went like this all day, do something strength related, run laps, do something strenght related, run laps, but even though Ichigo had immense spiritual energy, his body couldn't take it and collapsed after who knows how long.

Yoruichi stood over him. "Come on Kurosaki, get up. We still have work to do." Yoruichi said, reaching out her hand.

Ichigo took it and ended up getting pulled into an embrace from Yoruichi. "It's okay Ichigo, I know it may be rough now but trust me, it'll all pay off in the end, you just gotta get back up and try." she said, then she held Ichigo at arms length. "Do it for me."

Then, Yoruichi leaned in and kissed him on the head and held up Ichigo's head. "Now come on, we've still got some training to do."

Yoruichi started walking away and Ichigo sucked in a breath and held out his hand, wanting to say something, wanting Yoruichi to come back, to tell her that the person who kissed her last night wasn't him, well, wasn't really him. To try to tell her his feelings about her, but… He just couldn't. Ichigo sighed and followed Yoruichi, starting the rough training again… After a while of this, Ichigo lied down upstairs on the same cot he had woken up on during his training with Urahara.. What am I going to do, Ichigo thought to himself. He had his inner Hollow to deal with and learning to master him, he had his tough training everyday, and now this whole conflict of emotions with Yoruichi to top it all off.

Ichigo sighed and rolled into a sitting position, looking outside the window on the wall. It was a sunny day out with the sun starting its descent to the west, huh, they must have trained all morning and somewhat into the afternoon. Ichigo got up and went started the walk home, training was over, Yoruichi had said. It was normally only a little walk from the shop to the clinic, but Ichigo took the long way and went around town before heading home. Walking had always seemed to clear his head. Ichigo was casually walking around town, all these thoughts flying through his head, when he saw the bridge where underneath he and Chad had made their promises to each other and had really bonded there.

Ichigo walked down the steps and to the bottom of the ground walking over to the underside of the bridge. There was no longer a couch here, heck, that little gang quit coming here a long time ago after they got their butts' kicked. Ichigo sat down on the ground just admiring the peace and quiet for once. The sun was setting, a light breeze was coming in, and it was one of those days where it was a little on the warm side, however not the type of warm that makes it hot, it was the type of warm that you get when you curl up in you favorite blanket on a nice night. And to top it all of the sun was setting and this was a magnificent view.

"Nice view, huh?" said a familiar voice behind him.

Ichigo turned to see Yoruichi standing behind him, to sit next to him. "Yeah," Ichigo responded, staring at the sunset, "nice sunset tonight." He turned to face her. "Say, have you been following me?"

"Well," Yoruichi said, facing him, "I always watch you, well, that came out wrong. I watch you… Like a how a mother hen looks under her chicks."

Yoruichi leaned on Ichigo's shoulder. "Listen," Ichigo said, slightly uncomfortable yet enjoying this for some reason, "it was just one kiss, yet you're all over me, and I'm not sure if I like you or not, I'm so confused right now."

"Well, does this feel right?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yes." Ichigo said, after a mere moment.

"Then for now, lets just enjoy this moment of, of…"

"Rightfulness, peace?"

"All of the above." Yoruichi said.

That night they sat out and watched the sun set into the night, and right before sleep struck him, Ichigo swore that the purple in the sunset looked exactly like Yoruichi's hair… Ichigo opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. He wiped his eyes and sat up, met with a bright light in the face. He winced and covered his eyes, turning away from the rising sun. Ichigo looked at his surroundings and saw the familiar setting of the bridge he and Chad been before, and down at where he lied to find Yoruichi lying on the ground still sound asleep. He smiled, but then he started to frown. Man, I was out all night, imagine how worried Karin and everyone else is. Ichigo looked a second time at Yoruichi, smiled and bent down and kissed her on the head, then was off, not aware that when he kissed her she had smiled.

Ichigo arrived at his window and slid in quietly into his room, walking down the stairs to eat breakfast. As Ichigo was walking down the stairs, he heard a noise behind him and turned, holding his hand out in the air. He found his dad trying to surprise him with a kick, only to be caught by Ichigo's suspended hand. "Good reflexes, you must have slept well eh?" Isshin said, with a big goofy grin on his face. "Shaddup dad." said a voice behind dad. Suddenly Isshin dropped to the ground with a big bump on his head, to reveal Karin standing behind him with her fist still clenched. Isshin stood up, dusting himself off and went to off to eat, muttering beneath his breath. Ichigo and Karin walked to the table, not saying a word to each other, and they ate in silence as well. Weird, Ichigo thought, dad's being rowdy like usual, but Karin and Yuzu are never this quiet.

Yuzu then put her hands on the table and faced Ichigo. "Where were you last night Ichigo, you scared me!" Yuzu said, concern and sadness in her voice.

Karin stood up too. "Yeah Ichigo, what was that about huh." Karin said, shouting like usual.

Isshin stood up. "Now now kids, I'm sure Ichigo has his reasons, unless they were bad reasons Mr. Stay-out-late-and-worry-his-father-to-DEATH!" Isshin said, glaring at Ichigo for the last part.

Ichigo stood up. "Listen, I'm sorry that I worried you all, I was just, just," Ichigo explained, hesitating to thinking of an excuse, "hanging out with Keigo and Mizuiro, that's all."

Everyone nodded, although Karin looked a little suspicious, a clever girl, she is, however Ichigo doubted that she would find out. Everyone finished their breakfast and started the long walk to school, the previous night's events flying through his head. He reflected on how the beautiful the sunset was, on all the training, however he mostly thought about Yoruichi. Ichigo's face warmed at the thought, and soon Ichigo arrived at school. It was just another normal school day, the usual monotone teachers, the same lessons, the only exciting thing during that school day was the arrival of a new student, Shinji Hirako. He was pretty tall, with shoulder length blonde hair that looked almost like an umbrella coming over his head. He had sat there quietly throughout the day, however it seemed like he had been watching Ichigo, everywhere Ichigo was, Shinji was near, and that smile, he seemed to have the smile of the Koro Sensei from that one manga Assassination Classroom.

Ichigo had faced much worse than just a little stalker, but Ichigo had bumps on his neck and chills down his spine. So, when the school bell rang to end the day, and the school week thank goodness, Ichigo was relieved. As Ichigo walked home little did he realize that Shinji was right _above_ him, grinning as always. The next day, after some vigorous training with Yoruichi, Ichigo and Yoruichi had decided to meet under the bridge for a "relaxing evening together," as Yoruichi had described it. Ichigo, who was starting to warm up more to the idea of him and Yoruichi, had accepted. As he was walking, Ichigo thought to himself, you were right Hollow, thank you. _You're welcome…_ Ichigo wasn't sure if he had imagined that or not, but he continued walking.

Suddenly, there was a sudden rush of air behind him and Ichigo turned around to see none other than Shinji. Ichigo jumped, Shinji's smile and his sudden appearance giving him a jump.

"Have you been following me?" Ichigo asked, getting in a fighting position as he spoke.

"I wouldn't really call it following" Shinji replied, shrugging, "I mean, with all that spiritual energy and none of it being hidden it's more like you're wanting to be found."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Listen Ichigo," Shinji said, not even acting like he had heard what Ichigo said, "we need you. You need us, so join us, join the Vizards."

Ichigo blinked, "I have no idea what you are talking about." Ichigo responded.

"You know, that mask you've been wanting to control, well, we can help. In this group we all have mastered our masks, with some training you could too." Shinji said.

Ichigo was happy and creeped, also confused too, for he was just told that he could master his Hollow, nice, but Shinji, something didn't sound right about this whole thing, and of course he was confused cause he had met him just yesterday and he was now revealing that he had an inner Hollow and such.

"Well, I-" Ichigo said, but suddenly he was interrupted by a loud explosion somewhere nearby. He looked back at Shinji and right before he rushed to the scene he said, "Sorry, duty calls."

Ichigo pulled out Kon from his pocket, which he had put in his pocket today just in case he was in this sort of situation, and began running full speed in his Soul Reaper form, not only to get there fast but also to get away from the complaining and whiny Kon behind him. When he arrived upon the scene of the explosion, he saw in the midst of a crater, most likely where the explosion had taken place, two people, or were they people? The first one was enormous and seemed like an elephant almost, with tan skin and nearly no neck and legs, so really he looked like a big ball. Then below him was another person, paler than a sheet of paper and skinny as a stick this person had no emotion in his green eyes or his pale face. Yet Ichigo wasn't sure if they were human because they both had a hole in their bodies and Hollow masks… As well as swords. Now, Ichigo wasn't sure if those swords were necessarily Zanpakutos or not, but one thing for sure was that these people did not look like people to mess with.

Then, after a moments silence and staring at these creatures, the pale one made eye contact with Ichigo and said, "Finally, the test subject arrives."


	4. Beginning Bankai Training

"What?" I ask curiously.

The pale one lifted a finger in a threatening manner, and suddenly a small orb of light began gathering around his finger, and then a huge boom rang, ripping the air and almost bursting my eardrums. But only right before I heard the pale one mutter, "Cero." The small orb flew at me, and every instinct in my body told me that this orb was not a good thing to get in the way of. So I ducked and jumped out of the way of this Cero, which means Death Blast so that was a big hint, and I looked behind me to see a big explosion as the Cero connected with a tree leaving hardly a stump behind.

I looked back at the pair, the fat one was smiling, a look of which resembled demonic joy on his face, and the pale one was still devoid of any emotion, it was starting to get a little creepy actually.

The fat one let out a booming yell, and judging by his facial expression it appeared that he was laughing. "Nice one Ulquiorra, now let me handle the runt." the fat one said.

"Yammy, you will be crushed." said the pale one, who must be Ulquiorra.

"Bah, how could a mere Soul Reaper crush me, besides, you've had your fun so now it's my turn." said the fat one, Yammy I believe, while shifting his menacing glare over to me.

I gripped Zangetsu in my hands as Yammy ambled over towards me on all fours in a gorilla-like manner, and so I seized the opportunity to take him by surprise by flash-stepping behind him and sending a Getsuga Tensho right at the back of his head. There was a large explosion, kicking up dust this way and that yet I stood as still as a statue, waiting for the outcome. As the dust cleared a figure emerged, Yammy, without even a scratch on the back of his head.

"But, I… I-" I mumbled to myself, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Yes," Yammy said, turning to look at me, "it seems that you cannot pierce my Hierro." He cracked his knuckles, "Now it's my turn."

Yammy raised his gigantic fists in the air and slammed them into the ground, causing what felt like a small earthquake to occur. I flash-stepped out of the way, luckily, and found that where I had been standing was now a big crater. Yammy swung around again, this time, however, he brought his hands together in a wide semi-circle, like someone might try to clap. Ichigo jumped into the air, this was the perfect opportunity to strike. So, Ichigo shifted all of his weight forward, and combined with the help of gravity, he plummeted towards Yammy. Ichigo brought Zangetsu over his head he swung Zangetsu and struck Yammy square in the head, making Yammy crumple to the ground, kicking up all sorts of dust.

As the dust cleared, Ichigo lifted Zangetsu up to find blood splattered on the blade and he looked at Yammy to find a surprising sight. As the dust settled he saw Yammy with a mere cut on his head, barely cutting deep at all. This Hierro is something to take seriously then, Ichigo thought to himself. Ichigo jumped off Yammy's stomach as he sat up and felt the cut on his head, and he looked at the blood and chuckled. "Well," he said, "looks like you managed to pierce my Hierro." He placed his hands to his sides and pushed himself up. "Now let me pierce you."

Yammy reached to his side and pulled out his sword, and although Ichigo still stood his ground, he gulped a little. He may be big and kind of slow, but in the case of strength that can come to his advantage, I must be cautious and have no restraints when fighting him, Ichigo thought to himself. "Get ready, Ichigo." Yammy said. Ichigo paused, how did he know his name? That was all Yammy needed to strike. Yammy steps forward and swings his sword, yet just in the nick of time did Ichigo raise Zangetsu to block. Ichigo flew backwards, his feet planted firmly in the ground creating marks as he flew. Yet it didn't stop there, Yammy kept on striking Ichigo, forcing him to go on the defensive side of the battle, until finally Yammy struck Zangetsu and he flung out of Ichigo's hands and planted into the ground way out of reach.

"What's the matter Ichigo." Yammy said, his sword resting across Ichigo's throat. "Scared?"

Yammy brought back his sword and swung, and right before it made contact with Ichigo, who was standing there, ready to face his fate, there was a flash of movement and a giant boom and Yammy was thrown to the side like a mere doll. Ichigo stood up, coughing to get all the dust and smoke out of his lungs and as the dust settled he saw something that brought a smile to his face.

"You kept me waiting Ichigo, I thought something was wrong, and when Kisuke said that a Garganta had been opened in the park I knew you'd be here." said Yoruichi, walking over to Ichigo's side.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, kitten." Ichigo said, it was his new nickname for her.

Yoruichi was dressed in a sleeveless black shirt and black pants as well, yet the strangest sight was that her arms were covered with gray gauntlet looking things.

"This is what you decided to wear to our 'romantic' dinner?" Ichigo asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No," Yoruichi said, rolling her eyes, "it's some technology that Kisuke developed to boost my Shunpo and the clothing is supposed to help protect me from myself."

"Speaking of which, where is hat and clogs?" Ichigo asked.

"Over there." Yoruichi said pointing to Yoruichi.

Ichigo looked at the direction of where Yoruichi was pointing and a surprising sight met him. Kisuke was floating in midair, yet that wasn't the surprising part, Yammy had just struck him with a sword. Ichigo gasped, it had gone right through his heart, and even more surprising was when he looked over at Yoruichi and saw a smirk on her face.

Ichigo raised his hand to point at Kisuke and to protest against Yoruichi's reaction, but Yoruichi raised her hand. "Just hold on." she said, the smirk still planted on his face. I put my hand down and nodded, I trusted Yoruichi. I looked back over and saw yet another surprising sight. There were two Kisuke's, one was limp and lifeless while another was holding one. "You see, the Kisuke that was stabbed was a gigai with a mod soul inside it." Yoruichi said.

I nodded and sighed, relief spreading through my body, and watched as Yammy and Kisuke battled it out. Ichigo always enjoyed watching him battle, he striked with power and yet moved in a graceful manner, and it was always fun to see what tricks he had up his sleeve. Like just now he had used the gigai as a distraction. This battle was particularly fun to watch though, it went back and forth, Yammy would strike and Kisuke would parry and strike back. Finally however, Kisuke flash stepped behind Yammy, Benihime against his throat.

"Come on, let's get closer." Yoruichi said, flash stepping away. I followed as quickly as I could to see that Ulquiorra and Yammy were leaving through, what did Yoruichi call it, a garganta I believe.

I approach Yoruichi and ask, "What happened?"

"Well, Kisuke left Yammy alive yet wounded and so the arrancars left to go back to the Hueco Mundo." Yoruichi said, staring at the spot where they had left.

"I only understood about half of the words you said there."

"Well, arrancars are Hollows who have removed parts of their masks' in order to gain Soul Reaper like abilities, and the Hueco Mundo is where Hollows live. The garganta is how they get here and back, like the Seireitei. And don't you worry yourself on why I know that."

Ichigo nodded. "Well, now that that's over, I don't know if you're still in the mood, but I still wouldn't mind a romantic dinner for two."

Yoruichi smiled. "A relaxing dinner after a huge fight that we have no idea as to why it happened or their objectives at all, doing nothing but eating and talking. Sure, why not." she said.

We both flash-stepped there, arriving in seconds. It was just as I had left it. A small dinner table seated for two with candlelight and food set out on plates, still steaming. "Our dinner awaits." I said, gesturing towards the table and bowing a little, smiling up at her. She shook her head and sighed, the good kind though, like one would sigh of an old joke. We took our seats and stared at our food for a little while, contemplating what had just happened, until we began our dinners and conversation really started.

"So, who set all of this up?" Yoruichi asked, taking a small bite of the food in front of her. "And who cooked this delicious food? It's amazing!"

"You can thank my sisters for this, Yuzu did all the cooking and Karin helped me set up this table and the meal. They said if you were making me happy for once, then they wanted to make you happy too." Ichigo said, the last part in a sort of a joking tone.

Yoruichi laughed. "Well, make sure to tell your sisters that I'm plenty happy all right and that they have my thanks." she said. "So, any idea what that whole attack was about?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No idea, however when I met Ulquiorra, the pale skinny one, when he saw me he said, 'Well, so the test subject arrives.'" Ichigo said, a thoughtful look on his face.

Yoruichi nodded and they ate in silence for the rest of the dinner, until they stood up and started walking to the shop.

"That certainly was a pleasant evening." Yoruichi said, slipping her hand in mine.

"Why yes, it was." Ichigo said, stopping to turn to face Yoruichi as they arrived in front of the shop. "See you tomorrow kitten."

"Later strawberry." Yoruichi said, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hey! What you guys up too?" said a familiar voice.

Ichigo and Yoruichi turned, merely centimeters away from kissing, to see Kisuke at the front door waving at us.

"Oh nothing Kisuke." Ichigo said, as he and Yoruichi released hands.

"Goodbye and goodnight Ichigo, pleasant dreams." Yoruichi said, with her head over her shoulder as she walked away.

Ichigo turned to walk home when Kisuke's voice rang out, "Ichigo, could I have a word?"

Ichigo stopped and turned around, Kisuke and him haven't talked in awhile, perhaps he wanted to talk about the day's events with the whole arrancar thing and all. "Sure, what's up hat and clogs?" Ichigo said, approaching Kisuke.

Kisuke approached him. "Well, how do I put this lightly." Kisuke said, his tone of voice both friendly and… Dangerous? "Listen, Ichigo, you're my friend and I would never, ever cause any harm to you intentionally. However, if you don't lay off my woman then something might _accidentally_ happen to you. You get the picture?"

"Huh?" I said, I mean that was all I could say.

I had never seen this side of him, I mean, he had done this sort of thing before where he was friendly and serious at the same time, but never for these purposes. And he was threatening me, he had never done the likes of which before.

"Just, stay away from her, after all, wouldn't want something to accidentally happen to you the next day. By the way, tell her about this and you're in big trouble." Kisuke said, casually walking back into the shop as if nothing had happened.

"Huh?" I said once again, my brain still processing what had just happened. Sounded like Kisuke has just threatened him and told him to stay away from Yoruichi, Ichigo had actually thought that the two were dating when he first laid eyes on the two together, they just look so perfect together, you know? So it is true that Kisuke has a thing for Yoruichi, but hey, Yoruichi was his now, and he'd do anything to keep her.

Ichigo took the long way home that night, it always helped him to just take a nice stroll around town, it cleared his head, and after such a long day he could really use it. There were the arrancars, Sajin, and to top it all off Kisuke, his master, the guy he respected and looked up too, was being childish and was threatening to harm him if he didn't back off of Yoruichi. When Ichigo made it home, way late into the night, to his surprise did he find his dad in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in a black robe.

"Hey Ichigo, how's it going?" Isshin asked. "Looks like something's on your mind."

"Just… Girl trouble, that's all." Ichigo responded.

"Ah… The 'Big G' huh? If you want to talk about it I'm always here for you, remember that son." Isshin said.

Ichigo nodded and started walking towards the stairs, but then paused for a moment and turned back around and sat with his dad at the dinner table. "Well, you see, at school I'm dating this girl and this other dude likes her and he's threatening to beat me up and he's a lot bigger than me and stronger than me, but I really like this girl you see and I just don't know what to do." Ichigo said, speaking quite fast and resting his head on the table after he was finished.

"Well," Isshin said, standing up. "You've gotta listen to your heart and do what it says, cause your heart will never lead you onto a path you'll regret or disapprove of."

"Sometimes you say just the right thing dad. Thank you." Ichigo said, and then he walked up the stairs to his bed and he fell asleep faster than you could say "goodnight." To bad, for if he were still awake then he would've seen Isshin walk outside and pull a sword from his "robe" and kill the Grand Fisher.

Ichigo woke up the next morning to the sun shining in the sky and the birds singing their glorious tunes, it was that sort of morning that made you want to spring out of bed and do a little happy dance. However for Ichigo it was terrible, no, terrible is too strong a word, more like, foreboding. He had training with Yoruichi again today, he was going to see his beautiful girlfriend again and get to be stronger also, but he just couldn't get his mind off of Kisuke's warning. He said not even to go near her, and he was going to spend several hours in very close proximity to her. In his shop, in a room he designed, he could have totally booby-trapped the place last night or something. Alright, so maybe Ichigo was being a little paranoid, but instinct is what has been keeping Ichigo alive.

Ichigo arrived at the shop and went down the steps to find Yoruichi waiting patiently at the bottom, just standing there. "So what are we doing today?" I asked.

"You know that there are two releases of a Zanpakuto, right Ichigo?" she responded, still looking off in the distance.

"Yes, bankai. Why?"

"For today we begin training, training to unlock your bankai."


	5. Author's Note

Hey, it's me, mangamaniac02. This chapter is just to clarify what's happened in the past (the Soul Society Arc).

So, everything is pretty much the same, however as you can guess, Ichigo never learned Getsuga Tensho or Bankai and instead got through the Soul Society because of how well he and Zangetsu learned much about each other and bonded through hard work and sweat, working well together as a result, incredibly increasing his fighting abilities (like Ichigo's fight with Kenpachi), as well as the help of Yoruichi and friends to defeat enemies that they came across like Byakuya. However important canon stuff still did happen, such as Uryu losing his Quincy abilities and Ichigo Hollowfying during his battle with Byakuya.

Sorry for the confusion, I began writing this story when the truth behind the mask wasn't revealed yet, so as I read more and tried to incorporate more of the truth it became kind of complex. Hope this helped!


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